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Councillor Richard Boyles previously said that there are more than 3,500 pupils who need more help than is available through SEN support - nearly double the amount there were in 2015.

The council is "heavily dependent" on the Government's Spending Review settlement from 2020/21 and finding strategic solutions locally to fix the issue, a council document to be presented to the Schools Forum said.

Gloucestershire is set to receive £1.35million in April - and the same amount again next year - for additional high needs funding, but that will bring the overspend down to £2.7million.

The Schools Forum will meet on Thursday February 28, from 1pm. It is not yet known whether the seminar will be open to the press and public.

'NO REAL SOLUTIONS'

Two of Gloucestershire's six MPs have shared their views with the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the state of funding for SEN pupils.

Labour MP for Stroud David Drew said: “I remain deeply concerned about funding for Gloucestershire schools. The government promised a fairer funding system, yet the budget proposals for 2019/20 still rank Gloucestershire’s secondary schools’ block funding as 130th out of 149 local authority areas.

“The rising overspend for high needs is also worrying, as I see no real solutions in place to meet the needs of increasing numbers of children who need additional support.

“The overspend is exacerbated by the fact that far too many children, some with complex needs are being placed with expensive independent providers. We cannot allow this to continue, and the Government’s extra funding for special needs announced in December really is only a sticking plaster over the multiple financial issues facing schools and offers no long-term solutions.

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“Under Gloucestershire’s plans to try to make ends meet, fewer children with additional needs will receive full funding from the county council, resulting in some children missing out on the support they need and forcing schools to make difficult decisions about how they use scant resources, which will impact all of our children. We are already seeing the impact of that, with schools cutting courses, staff and equipment.”

Conservative MP for Cheltenham Alex Chalk said: “As I raised directly with Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions, Gloucestershire’s special schools are witnessing an explosion in emotional and behavioural complexity among our young people, the drivers of which are poorly understood.

"The additional funding from Government shows that ministers are listening to local MPs and taking action, but with demand still rising I’ll be urging them to go further in this year’s Spending Review."